My new technique regimen, tell me if it seems effective.

[darkside 88]

First, a backstory. I've been playing for 4 years. The first two years were essentially a waste, spent it learning tabs.

Then I joined my band and technique improved dramatically.

Two years with my band and I feel like I've hit a wall, so I'm going back to basics, and beyond.

Firstly, chromatics. Lots of them. Slow at first.

Second, I'm going to practice all of our bands songs at an increased speed, and I'm not going to stop until I can play them all at 1.5 speed. Hopefully, that will boost both fretting accuracy and finger strength/speed.

And lastly, just for fun, I'm going to practice triplets. I hope to be able to reach that Harris-esque gallop.

What do you think? And give me more exercises if you know some.

[darkside 88]

Oh, I forgot to mention I'll also be cutting down on the video games. While not to detrimental...in fact maybe a bit beneficial to my right hand, I feel like my ring and pinkie on my left are suffering from atrophy.

[Stuggi]

Get one of thouse boss meteronomes. I think it's something like DR-30 or so, anyway, it's dirt cheap and really good. You'll need it for this excericse.

Just practice playing a major scale at 60 bpm, one quarter note per note in the scale, up and down. The second time you go through the scale, play 2 1/8-notes per note in the scale. Third time through, play 3 1/8-note triplets per note in the scale. Fourth time, play 4 1/16-notes per note in the scale. And then back again until you're back playing 1/4-notes. Do this until you can shred it up and down at 80-100 bpm, but don't move on until you master it at 60 bpm (hint: it's a lot harder than it sounds). When you feel comfortable with switching between the diffrent times (1/4ths, 1/8ths...), you might want to start tinking about attack and making every note sound the same (while using index and middlefingers to pluck).

[Sarbecue Boss]

here are the excersises i have been using recently. These are great for developing pickstyle, but I use them for fingerstyle practice as well

John Pattatucci's Spider

------------------------------
------------------------------
------7------8------5------6--
--5------6------7------8------
run through that pattern with each string combination

E+A, A+D, D+G, E+D, A+G, and (take it slow and don't hurt your wrist) E+G

The chromatic excersises I practice
----------------------------7-8-9-10-
-------------------7-8-9-10----------
----------7-8-9-10-------------------
-7-8-9-10----------------------------

I play that one in several different positions, and ascending and descending

This is the hardest one for me. Basically, this is a 1-3-5 starting in C, playing the 1-3-5 of each mode in C(or any key), so in effect what i am diong is playing a 1-3-5 of Cmaj, Dmin,Emin Fmaj, Gmaj, Amin, Bflat5, and Cmaj again
so it looks like this

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---2-5-------7---------9----7--10-----9--12-----15--14-----------15-----14---17-
-3------5--8----7--10----8---------10-------12----------14--17------15---------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------



i start all these excersises slow(around 80) and work them up as much as i can every day. something else to think about is ear training, transcribe music you like every day.
__________________

[darkside 88]

Thanks.

[SundanceChile]

Originally Posted by Sarbecue Boss

The chromatic excersises I practice
----------------------------7-8-9-10-
-------------------7-8-9-10----------
----------7-8-9-10-------------------
-7-8-9-10----------------------------

Not to be a nit picker, but to be chromatic, wouldn't you have to play the 11th fret too to avoid that whole step jump?

[louieeadg]

This may sound silly but...buy some tennis balls, if your driving your car, watching a movie, reading, whatever, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. You can do one hand at a time(actually preferred if you're driving). This is a thing I do...I practice bass on a guitar, same fingering, same right hand technique(sometimes I use a pick so I concentrate on my left hand)and I go through a bag full of exercises with a drum machine. Get one! or a metronome! A bassist practicing without one of these are worthless. (little extreme but it helps get the point across) But when I pick my bass up after playing that guitar with its tiny little strings...ahhh, its like seeing a long, lost friend.
Above all that though, don't get too caught up in technical stuff everyday. Work on one thing a day, then go on to the creative aspect of the craft. Its just like you learning tab. Learning tab all day=bad. Learning exercises all day in leu of trying out for Bass olympics=bad. Balancing an exercise workout with learning some theory/songs/creative outlet=GOOD!
cheers